The Grove Holiday Arts & Craft Faire and a Fall Hike

The Kennicott House decorated for the holidays.

One of my favorite events all year is The Grove Holiday Arts & Craft Faire! The Grove is both a historical landmark and nature preserve with several historic buildings nestled within a prairie grove. The Arts& Craft Faire is a very special time when several of the historic buildings, interpretive buildings and nature center are filled to the brim with quality crafts, artisan products and culinary treats. Guides in 19th century apparel, twinkling lights, whimsical snowmen and evergreen fronds add to the holiday atmosphere.

A visit during the faire is truly an adventure and definitely puts one in the holiday spirit! I often use the event to kick off my holiday shopping and usually come back home with a few items. The crafts go beyond your normal holiday fare and also include sports items, pet items, jewelry, fall and winter treasures, Thanksgiving items and versatile decor. The decent selection of Thanksgiving items is so inspirational because the celebration is too often neglected! As you can imagine, it takes a bit of time to go through all of the crafts. So, I recommend allotting about 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

After perusing the faire, we took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather to stroll around The Grove. The 145-acre preserve beckons nature admirers with forest, wetland and prairie. We often spot wildlife and spotted ducks on this visit.

The Grove also has a historic cabin, one room schoolhouse, replica teepee and replica longhouse. They are open seasonally and during certain events. The historic Kennicott home is one of the buildings housing the faire!

As you can see, we had a lovely fall day for exploring! We were delighted that there were still some fall colors to be seen. The leaves are now falling at a quick pace, but you may be able to see a few left at The Grove this week. Really a marvelous way to transition through fall to Thanksgiving and then the holidays!

Info about the Arts & Craft Faire:

• Remaining dates are November 10-13, 2016.
• Hours are 10AM-8PM Thursday and Friday; 10AM-5PM Saturday and Sunday.
• Admission is $5 per person, $1 per child.
• A cafe offers lunch, dinner or light bites for purchase during the event.
• If you miss the Arts & Craft Faire, the upcoming Grove Holiday Store will have crafts but on a much smaller scale.